With support from Congress, President-elect Biden should reconstitute the DOJ's Office of Access to Justice and create a $1B Justice Technology Impact Fund to improve access-to-justice and hasten decarceration.

Here's what I'm thinking:

We already know things are bad. In 76% of civil cases, at least one party doesn't have a lawyer. Most people can't get legal recourse. And we rank worse than Rwanda on access-to-justice.

On the criminal side, things are also bad. 10m Americans arrested a year. A majority of people in jails are awaiting trial (not found guilty). And this all disproportionately hits Black, Brown, and poor communities the hardest.

Compounding all this, courts are also in a decline.

President-elect campaigned on "build back better." Which, if I understand it correctly, means no aspect of American society is to be overlooked, including the justice system.

We can build back better our justice system by seeding a revolution in digital justice infrastructure.

First, pluck leaders from 18F, the Legal Services Corporation, the U.S. Digital Service, industry, and academia. This diverse mix of leaders will collectively know how to manage large grants, wrangle gov't tech, and work with justice stakeholders.

Next, take creative approaches to federal grant making. For instance, instead of working with a specific agency on a one-off project, the fund prioritized working with jurisdictions where justice agencies applied as a cohort. This would speed adoption and save taxpayer money.

Each grantee will have different issues and challenges. However, every cohort starts at the same place: adopting open data standards created by the National Center for State Courts and the Bureau of Justice Assistance and creating a public API to share the collected data.

This is the sea change that our justice system needs. Creating this groundbreaking infrastructure will make justice systems around the country more transparent and accessible—breathing new life into what’s possible.

Adopting & implementing open standards & collecting data created numerous benefits. 1. Leaders can understand, manage, & clear the unprecedented backlog of cases that amassed during the pandemic. 2. Standardizing data fields helps states create uniform & simplified court forms.

3. Collecting and analyzing the data can lead to a deeper level of introspection from local leaders that creates a wave of reforms meant to increase racial and ethnic equity and access.

4. Local agencies can build on top of the infrastructure to fit their specific needs. Online dispute resolution, case management software, productivity saving tools, such as transcribers, can all go further and have deeper impact when the data foundation is laid correctly.

Naturally, all of this work needs to be complemented with training and change management resources in the areas of cybersecurity, procurement, upkeep, and others. However, these are issues we know how to manage, and local agencies can manage with the right support.

Nothing about this thread should be controversial or partisan. It a long overdue investment into America's justice systems.

Creating this fund is an endorsement that the United States can still build a more perfect union—one that guarantees equal access to justice for all.

To read more about what a $1 billion Justice Technology Investment Fund can look like, check out my latest piece in the Justice Tech Download. https://justicetech.substack.com/p/jtdl-1b-justice-technology-impact